Albany County District Attorney Lee C. Kindlon announced today that a 34-year-old man who crashed into motorcyclist Patrick LaFortune Jr. on Route 9 last July has admitted to recklessly causing his death.

Jacob Snide pleaded guilty Friday morning in front of the Honorable Andra Ackerman to Manslaughter in the Second Degree.

On July 14 at around 5 p.m. on Route 9W in the area of Corning Hill Road in Glenmont, Snide’s vehicle crossed over the centerline and struck LaFortune, 32, of Schenectady, who was travelling northbound on his Ducati motorcycle. LaFortune was treated on scene by Delmar-Bethlehem EMS, but later died at Albany Medical Center Hospital as a result of injuries from the crash. Snide was arrested and charged by Bethlehem Police on the strength of a sealed indictment.

In court Friday, Snide admitted that his reckless actions that day caused the death of LaFortune.

“This case is a stark reminder of New York’s antiquated impaired driving laws and the Drugged Driving loopholes that handcuff us in securing stronger sentences,” DA Kindlon said. “Under current law, we cannot hold a driver fully accountable unless the substance involved happens to appear on an outdated list written years ago, regardless of how impaired that driver actually was. We will honor the memory of Patrick, and other victims, by continuing to push for legislative reforms, including the Deadly Driving Bill, so that no other family in Albany County has to deal with this same gap in the law.”

Snide was remanded to the custody of the Albany County Correctional Facility until sentencing on Sept. 10, when he will face up to 12 years in state prison. The maximum allowed by the state for Manslaughter 2 is five to 15 years.

Assistant District Attorneys Elizabeth Jektyan and Katherine Miller of the Vehicular Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.